Monthly Archives: May 2021

On ‘geriatric millennials’

I was quoted in a nice article by Kasia Delgado for the i: ‘“Geriatric millennials” is the latest meaningless micro-generation – and yet I still feel left out’: ‘The more curious question is why these seemingly arbitrary cohorts exist at all. “These generational labels are culturally constructed and imposed on people,” says Jennie Bristow, senior sociology […]

It’s time to get students back into lecture halls

When British universities compete for prospective students, they boast of state-of-the-art facilities, a vibrant social scene and accommodation designed to promote fun and friendship. Depending on where they are in the myriad ‘league tables’ designed to guide students through their decision-making, universities may also boast of excellent teaching, high levels of student satisfaction and holding a reputation […]

Generation, Interrupted

The Corona Generation, Coming of Age in a Crisis, which I wrote with my eldest daughter during the UK’s first lockdown, explores the impact on those coming-of-age under pandemic-related restrictions. In this video, Emma, Class of 2020, candidly describes how teenagers have been affected by school closures and restrictions on normal social activity while I […]

Lockdown: One year on

I wrote the article ‘Covid-19 is not a generation war’ the week before the UK’s formal lockdown announcement. As major political pressure for lockdown grew inside the country and internationally, disease spread rapidly. National school closures and the cancellation of public examinations had already been announced. Nonetheless, there remained a possibility that the UK might […]